CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazers dropped the first game of their road trip to the West Georgia Wolves 97-74 on Thursday night.
 
West Georgia's Camron Donatlan finished with a game high 36 points for the Wolves. While junior Caden Boser led the Blazers in scoring with 17 points.
 
Junior Jack Wetzel got things going for the Blazers, hitting an early three 20 seconds into the game to give the Blazers an early 3-0 lead. West Georgia came back on a quick run, as the Wolves went on a 7-0 run over the next three in a half minutes to give them a 7-3 lead. Valdosta State came back with a run of their own, going on a 11-3 run to take a 14-10 lead capped off by a layup from senior Mike Isler off the assist from graduate transfer LaTrell Tate with 13:02 left in the first half.
 
Both teams were battling early, trading baskets heading into the under 12 timeout with UWG ahead 17-15. For the first half, the Wolves shot 7-18 from three while the Blazers shot 2-6 from beyond the arc.
 
VSU was staying withing punching distance of UWG, trading baskets for the next five minutes, as Boser had 10 points as Valdosta State trailed by two with 6:51 left in the half. For the rest of the half, the Wolves went on outscore the Blazers by eight to head into the break with a 45-35 lead.
 
In the half, Valdosta State got to the line 15 times, converting nine of them, while West Georgia went 2-4 from the charity stripe. The Blazers also won the rebounding battle, outrebounding the Wolves 23-21 in half number one.
 
The Blazers started out the second half strong, trimming the lead to five over the first few possessions thanks to a three pointer from recently named GSC Player of the Week Braxton Williams.
 
That was all Valdosta State could muster, as West Georgia shot the lights out the rest of the game, shooting 66.7% from the floor, and knocking down nine of the 15 three points attempts, good for 60%.
 
The Wolves would go on to win the game 97-74, as UWG takes this game of the Red Clay rivalry series to even the overall record to 16-16 heading into the last ever regular season matchup in Titletown. For the game, West Georgia outshot the Blazers from the floor and from downtown, shooting 56.3% from the floor and 48% from three. The Wolves barely scraped by on the glass, outrebounding the Blazers 40-37.
 
Up next, Valdosta State heads to Memphis, Tenn. on Dec. 15, at 8 p.m. to take on Christian Brothers after having the next few days off.
 
For all stats, news, and updates on Valdosta State basketball, please visit vstateblazers.com